KYIV -- Ukrainian lawmaker Vyacheslav Kyrylenko has called on the Ministry of Taxation to check if all Russian entertainers touring Ukraine have their work permits in order.

Kyrylenko's statement comes after the migration service in the Russian city of Saratov said that nine members of the Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy had been fined 18,000 rubles ($555) and concert organizers fined 225,000 rubles ($6,930) on November 2 for performing in Russia without a work permit.

The chief of Ukraine's presidential directorate for humanitarian development, Yuriy Bohutskyy, told RFE/RL that he plans to discuss the situation with Russian officials on November 8.

Ukrainian-Russian ties have been tense lately as Moscow has been pressuring Ukraine to give up plans to sign an EU Association Agreement later this month.

The quality and independence of Ukraine's media as a whole are still limited, and RFE/RL's Radio Svoboda is the country's most popular and trusted international broadcaster. Radio Svoboda celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2014.